The 2003âÂÂ04 WHL season was the 38th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Twenty teams completed a 72-game season. The defending champion Kelowna Rockets won their second consecutive Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best regular season record; however, they failed to defend their playoff title as the Medicine Hat Tigers won the President's Cup, their fourth in team history, defeating the expansion Everett Silvertips in the championship series. This gave Medicine Hat a berth in the 2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which, because it was hosted by Kelowna, also featured the Rockets, who went on to win the tournament.
League notes
- The Everett Silvertips joined the WHL as its 20th franchise, playing in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. The Silvertips went on to post an historic inaugural season, breaking 10 junior hockey expansion team records. This included winning both a division title and conference title, winning a playoff series against the league's top regular season team, and becoming the first junior hockey expansion team to win a conference championship.
- The playoff format was simplified so that the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, eliminating the possibility of cross-overs between divisions.
Regular season
Final standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Goaltending leaders
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
2004 WHL Playoffs
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern Conference
(E1) Moose Jaw Warriors vs. (E4) Regina Pats
(E2) Prince Albert Raiders vs. (E3) Brandon Wheat Kings
(C1) Medicine Hat Tigers vs. (C4) Swift Current Broncos
(C2) Red Deer Rebels vs. (C3) Calgary Hitmen
Western Conference
(B1) Kelowna Rockets vs. (B4) Swift Current Broncos
(B2) Vancouver Giants vs. (B5) Kamloops Blazers
(U1) Everett Silvertips vs. (U4) Spokane Chiefs
(U2) Portland Winterhawks vs. (U3) Tri-City Americans
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
WHL Championship
On November 26, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 4âÂÂ1 in Calgary, Alberta before a crowd of 7,844.
On November 27, Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 7âÂÂ1 in Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 4,908.
WHL awards
All-Star teams
- source: Western Hockey League press release
2004 Bantam Draft
The 2004 WHL Bantam Draft was held at the WHL's head office in Calgary on April 29, 2004.
List of first round picks in the bantam draft.
See also
References